Hello everyone! This thread is for northern gardeners like me to share pictures, talk about those pictures, or just talk about what is going on in their garden.

Don't be shy, post some pictures, talk about them, maybe learn a thing or two, but above all, have fun!

Happy gardening!

Kim

I know North is just a direction and just North of me, especially Canada, is the most nasty of winter weather in North America.
What are your winter conditions on average and worst case scenario?

Well, out here our worse case scenario on average is probably semi-severe hail. Haha the weather by you makes ours look like a walk in the park. 2 or 3 years ago we did have a mini hurricane though.

Regular winter conditions just involve mainly rain, some hail, and low temperatures of 25 degrees (lowest, and it usually is only that cold in the morning). February (and sometimes March) is/are the month(s) that get(s) just plain cold. Raining usually starts in late—sometimes early—November.

How is your garden doing.
Northern gardening topic is all comatose at best and DOA at worst but as you are in Calif. which is far different from Minn. I am curious how you adjust to summer.
Here it can be as dry as a drought in Calif. or as humid and miserable as the deep South.
So far this year is has been hot but even with rainfall way below average not miserable yet.
If the heat continues July could be hell month like it was often in the nineties.

We adjust by just mainly doing succulents. We've never done anything major, because we've been planning on moving, so we don't want anything to be official that we have to leave.

Rapid City used to be an odd warm spot in the Northland, of tens of degrees warmer than Eastern Dakota.
Has that ceased to be in the past six-seven years.
I was in the Black Hill 9 years ago and BS with a dude from our area who bought a store in Keystone and he said that was one reason he moved there.

A little bit after we first arrived in October, it was so cold and snowing. Since then it hasn't really gotten above 65, and for the past few weeks it hasn't been over 60, and then in the night it gets to be 20.

I can't really say how it is in Rapid City normally, because we've only been here for a few months. Just going off of what we've experienced so far.

Now I am not exaggerating about the past where Rapid City had temp . way above Eastern Dakota, and tens of degrees from the part of Minn. I am in BUT i checked recent lows for Rapid City and it seems in very recent years -30 has been common there, with -20 in five or six years earlier more normal.
Hot Springs, South Dakota though is recorded as being the warmest city in South Dakota with an average of 25 daytime highs at 50 degrees being the norm from Dec.- Feb.
I do not like above freezing temp. once snow is on the ground in Dec., period, so I do not think I would enjoy living their myself.

Yep, I saw that the lowest degree it's ever gotten to in Rapid City (of course, in recorded history) is -31.

For me as long as I'm warm in my house, the snow/cold isn't so bad. And when it does snow, it's so beautiful and I can enjoy it. Through a window, of course.

I lived in Rapid City back when I was younger, I was married there and had my first child there. My Grandparents lived in Hot Springs as well as my brother for awhile and my niece still lives in a ranch out of Hot Springs. I loved the climate there and it was a couple growing zones warmer then it is here. Most of my family is here or I sure wouldn't mind moving back if I could take my plants with me.

I sure like the climate here as well, it's just the gardening that's an issue for me.

I had to leave almost all of my beautiful succulents back in CA when we moved here a few months ago, but I still took three of my succulents.

Hopefully next summer I can get them back, when my mom visits us. She offered to take the plants for us, and is bringing them with her when she visits us, so I am definitely grateful for her.

Hmmm, Strange Brew indeed.

We are having a warmer, not near as nasty warm and dry as early 80s, and it just ain't right.
I look at temperatures and most are average or above but night time is higher than average, on average, we need another two feet of snow and some -20, at least temp. for things to be right. (It also helps rid us of welfare debris that has drifted in with warmer winters.)

At that after the warm 80s came record winter cold, followed by some above average winters followed by another block of record winters, I eagerly await the cycle to swing sub-zero.
A lot of snow also helps me keep the weight of in winter.

You're in the 80s?? (The temperature, not the time LOL)

I'm not nearly as excited about sub zero temps as you, RpR, I think this has been just about right for temps. but I would like a little more snow. Having it not so cold makes the winter seem to go faster to me. I'm sure hoping it doesn't stay warmer most of the winter an then the cold moves in for March. That's when many ranchers and farmers are having calves born so a cold, wet spring is really hard on the baby animals.

Well this has been boring to warm, too little snow winter so far, and even though I have been as lazy as fifteen year old dog, since Sharon had her new knee put in today, I figured I would cook up some thing that will last for a few days.

I bought some beef bones, just bone and a little fat and meat. 1.99 a pound, then I grabbed a rack of amazingly lean pork ribs.
Boiled the bones in in some GOOD SHIT season, beef and chicken broth for a few hours, then added the cut up rib rack and boiled that for anothe couple of hours.

Put that in the unheated porch last night and then this morning took the solidified grease off of the top and mixed up some hard dumplings dough.
I put GOOD SHIT seasoning and a little chicken broth seasoning in regular flour, added some of the soup , eggs and little half and half.
Dropped that into the soup and boiled for another one half of an hour.
Even Sharon said it was Good Shit Man.

Is that a real seasoning???

I wouldn't doubt it, for I have this Mexican seasoning that the family likes called "Slap Ya Mama".

Weird names for seasoning

39/23 currently 25, with a chance of snow showers today.

https://shop.specialshit.com

KFredenburg said:Is that a real seasoning???
I wouldn't doubt it, for I have this Mexican seasoning that the family likes called "Slap Ya Mama".
Weird names for seasoning
39/23 currently 25, with a chance of snow showers today.

I got it at one of the women's junk stores .
When I bought it , I was dickering around looking to see which one I wanted and Sharon said "What are you doing? They are closing."
I said loudly "Looking to see what kind of shit is best" .
Others looked at me and the owners broke out laughing, stating loud enough so other shoppers could hear, "That is what that product is called, see" and he grabbed a bottle to show Sharon and others checking out.

Lol!!